Woman gets £7,000 for 44 years of work

A WOMAN, who left school at 14 and worked in a shoe factory for 44 years, has received a redundancy payment of just £7,000 (9,000).

Two years ago, the Labour Court ruled that Blackthorn Shoes should pay Kathleen Murphy, 59, and nine other co-workers an additional week’s pay for every year served.

So far, the Dundalk-based company has not paid it, despite winning a £1.2 million (1.5m) contract from the Office of Public Works.

Kathleen Murphy began work at 14 in Blackthorn Shoes after leaving primary school.

“I did a lot of different jobs over the years like skiving (cutting off thin pieces of leather) and stamping the names and sizes on shoes,” she said.

At its height, the plant employed up to 200 people but by the end of the 90s, it was struggling to win orders. In July 2000, Ken Connolly, the managing director of Blackthorn Shoes told Ms Murphy and nine other employees that there was no more work for them. They were the first to go. Now just a handful of people work in the factory.

“After being there for so long it was an awful upheaval. For the last six weeks, we did what we could but there was nothing on a big scale,” Ms Murphy said.

She was paid the statutory redundancy of a half week’s pay per year of service from 16-41 and a week per year of service after 41. The legislation did even not cover her first two years, since she began work at 14.

Ms Murphy, with 44 years in the job, got £7,000 (9,000). One of the other workers made redundant got £5,400 (7,000) for 36 years of service.

“After all the service that I and the other girls gave, it left us with a very sour taste. None of us got a good deal. I miss the job an awful lot but that’s life, you have to move on,” said Ms Murphy. She now lives in Dundalk and survives on a disability pension.

She is not hopeful of receiving what the Labour Court recommended. “We haven’t heard anything from the company since. I can’t see anything happening. ”

Ken Connolly, the managing director of Blackthorn Shoes, was unavailable for comment.

At the time of the redundancies, Blackthorn Shoes said it could not afford to pay the extra money recommended by the Labour Court. It now repackages imported shoes to fulfil the Office of Public Works contract and runs with a minimal staff.

SIPTU the case of the Blackthorn Ten showed the outdated nature of current statutory redundancy legislation. “It’s legislation that hasn’t been amended since 1968. Back then, companies had a long life-span. But the manufacturing sector has changed totally since,” said Dundalk branch secretary John King said

Local TD, Communications Minister Dermot Ahern has met the company about the issue, a spokesman said. “Ultimately, however, the responsibility rests with Blackthorn, who are a private company,” he said.